(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to an apparatus and method for magnetizing the permanent magnets of an electric motor rotor using the winding coils of the motor stator when the circumferential width of each rotor permanent magnet pole is larger than the circumferential width of each stator winding coil.
(2) Description of the Related Art
Variable speed electric motors are often constructed with rotor assemblies that include a plurality of permanent magnets that are secured to the motor rotor. One or more of the magnets make up each of the poles of the rotor. The permanent magnets are spatially arranged on the rotor around the rotor axis of rotation and each magnet typically extends along the axially length of the rotor. When the magnets are secured to the rotor the magnets often are not polarized and have no magnetic polarity. This is done to facilitate the assembly of the rotor into the motor stator.
The typical stator is comprised of a plurality of metal laminate plates, each having a plurality of stator poles formed in the plate. The laminate plates are stacked with the poles aligned to form the stator core. Multiple lengths of wire are wound around the stator poles forming stator coils around each of the poles. With the stator basically being entirely constructed of metal, assembly of a permanent magnet rotor into the stator core where the permanent magnets have previously been polarized is a difficult operation. The polarization of the rotor magnets draws the rotor to the stator poles and coils making assembly difficult. Because of this, it was found that assembling a permanent magnet rotor into the interior bore of a stator prior to the permanent magnets being polarized was a much more efficient method of assembly. In addition, by not polarizing the permanent magnets of the rotor prior to its assembly into the stator core, contamination problems associated with a rotor that has been magnetized prior to assembly in the stator are eliminated.
Once the permanent magnet rotor has been assembled into the interior bore of the stator the permanent magnets of the rotor are polarized. This is accomplished by passing a polarizing electric current through the coils of the stator. In the magnetization process of the rotor permanent magnets using the coils of the stator, it is necessary that the rotor be properly positioned relative to the stator coils. In the prior art magnetization process, the stator and rotor would be held stationary relative to each other by a separate support base. The coils of the stator are then connected electrically to a magnetizer. The rotor is held stationary by the support base relative to the stator coils in a position where the middle of the circumferential width of each rotor permanent magnet is in line with the lines of the magnetic field produced by the polarizing electric current passed through the stator coils. This ensures that each permanent magnet of the rotor is sufficiently polarized. In the prior art method of polarizing the permanent magnets of the motor, a magnetizing or polarizing electric current is passed through each of the stator coils simultaneously, resulting in the simultaneous magnetization of each of the rotor permanent magnets.
Examples of prior art methods of employing the stator winding coils of an electric motor to magnetize the rotor permanent magnets similar to that discussed above are disclosed in the U.S. patents of Shida et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,424,902; Asano et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,084,496; and Asano et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,232,862.
However, the prior art magnetizing procedure discussed above required that the circumferential width or circumferential span of each of the stator winding coils of the electric motor be larger than the circumferential width or circumferential span of each of the rotor permanent magnet poles. The larger coil size relative to the size of the permanent magnet pole was necessary to ensure that the magnetic field produced by the polarizing current passed through the stator coils was sufficiently large to sufficiently polarize the permanent magnet pole. Problems are encountered in electric motor constructions where the circumferential width or circumferential span of the stator winding coils is smaller than the circumferential width or circumferential span of each of the rotor magnet poles. In such situations each stator coil is too small to produce a magnetic field that is sufficiently large to entirely encompass a rotor magnet pole and sufficiently polarize the magnet(s) of the rotor pole.